Head-To-Head Comparison: Graco (NYSE:GGG) & Wabash National (NYSE:WNC)

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) and Graco (NYSE:GGG) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Wabash National and Graco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wabash National	-9.13%	-42.42%	-10.90%
Graco	22.40%	20.13%	16.08%

Volatility & Risk

Wabash National has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Graco has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.1% of Wabash National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of Graco shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Wabash National shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Graco shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Wabash National pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Graco pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wabash National pays out -9.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Graco pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Graco has raised its dividend for 29 consecutive years. Wabash National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Wabash National and Graco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wabash National	1	1	2	1	2.60
Graco	0	5	3	0	2.38

Wabash National presently has a consensus target price of $23.33, suggesting a potential upside of 94.62%. Graco has a consensus target price of $87.40, suggesting a potential upside of 19.91%. Given Wabash National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Wabash National is more favorable than Graco.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Wabash National and Graco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wabash National	$1.52 billion	0.32	$211.45 million	($3.41)	-3.52
Graco	$2.24 billion	5.23	$521.84 million	$3.11	23.44

Graco has higher revenue and earnings than Wabash National. Wabash National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Graco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Graco beats Wabash National on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wabash National

Wabash National Corporation designs and manufactures equipment and solutions for the transportation, logistics and distribution industries. Its products include dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers, truck bodies and equipment for final-mile delivery. The company also supplies parts, components and services for commercial vehicles and offers products used in applications such as cold-chain transportation and warehouse operations. Wabash serves customers primarily in North America.

About Graco

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures and markets equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and coating materials. Its products include pumps, meters, fluid-handling systems and spray equipment used with paints, coatings, sealants, lubricants and other materials. The company serves customers in industrial and process markets, as well as contractors working in areas such as painting, building maintenance and surface preparation. Graco sells its products worldwide through a network that includes distributors and direct sales.